Various Artists
Milton Hopkins & Jewel Brown
Wow! Hip
gospel, laid-back soul, and cool grooves!
This sound reaches back to major tours with Louis
Armstrong and BB King, back to Houston's old Fifth Ward and Third Ward,
back to the golden era of the blues.
Jewel Brown and Milton Hopkins bring all this together on their new
release on Dialtone Records.
Cornell Dupree
I'm Alright
Lil Joe Washington
Houston Guitar Blues (Vinyl Rerelease)
Joe is from the Third Ward in Houston TX, by fifteen he was playing drums in Albert Collins band and later playing guitar for Roscoe Gordon. He played the rowdy border town circuit in El Paso, including the Lobby Bar in Juarez, Mexico before recording on the Donna and the Federal labels.
Rev. K.M. Williams
When I Rise
He calls himself the Texas Country Blues Preacher. K.M. plays a homemade single string cigar box guitar while wearing a priest’s collar, all while being backed by a percussionist/washboard player who prefers to use his hands over drumsticks. All original tracks soaked in the sounds of gospel and blues.
Hosea Hargrove
Tex Golden Nugget
Hosea Hargrove stepped onto the cool tile floor of Fort Horton Studios just outside of Austin, Texas, for the first of a two-day recording session. He was armed only with his electric guitar, an ancient beat up amplifier, and 80 years of experience living and playing the blues.
Lil Joe Washington
Texas Fire Line
Houston, Texas in the '50s was the best place to be a blues man. Little Joe cut his teeth playing alongside Albert Collins, Joe Hughes, Gatemouth Brown, and Roscoe Gordon. In the '60s, Joe moved on to the border town circuit and also went to California to record for Donna Records and Federal Records. This record marks Joe's second release on Dialtone since 2003. Joining him are some of the best player in Texas.
Various Artists
Dialtone Stable of Stars Live
One of the biggest blues events of the South was the Dialtone Records show at South by Southwest. All the best touring blues artists that are still living today showed up. These recording should be called 'Texas Smithsonian of the blues', it is a part of Texas roots history.
Ray Reed
Where the Trinity Runs Free
On these recordings Ray is joined by some good friends: Johnnie Woods who played with Freddie King, Jimmie Reed and Johnny Taylor, and also recorded with Al "TNT" Braggs, Little Joe Blue and R.L. Griffin.
Seth Walker, Eve Monsees, Nick Curran, Mike Keller, Shawn Pittman, Johnny Moeller, Texas Northside Kings
Texas Northside Kings
Probably one of the most important recordings on the label. These artists are the third generation of blues musicians and are the basis of the Austin, Texas roots music scene that you can go out to see every night. On this recording are also some of the best postwar blues players holding down the rhythm section and supporting the next generation.
Various Artists
Texas Southside Kings
Documenting central Texas Blues doesn't get any better than this, it includes one of the artists who started Jive Boogie Woogie, Walter 'Thunderbird' Price. This recording reunites his first band he recorded with in the 50s, and also includes Blues artists from Nixon, Gonzales, Austin, San Antonio and Houston.
Joe Doucet
Houston's Third Ward Blues
Doucet's debut disc evokes a vintage sound. Its artful rawness is grounded in part in the electric blues heritage of inner-city Houston (where Doucet has lived since 1962) and in part in the zydeco, swamp pop, and solo acoustic traditions of rural southwest Louisiana.
Various Artists
Texas Harmonica Rumble
Label founder, Eddie Stout: "After playing 'Battle of the Harmonicas' in San Francisco a few times, I created Texas' own Harmonica Rumble and expanded the idea by making the harp players use the same back-up band. This new recording is a tribute to the great memories and a reunion of some of the best Harmonica players in the world."
Willie Nelson, Joe Ely, Chip Taylor, Bells of Joy
The Original Bells of Joy with Friends
Take a trip back to the golden age of Gospel with the Bells of Joy. Over 40 years in the making, this is the real deal! "...A primer on black spiritual music supercharged with leg-shaking rhythms that makes modern rock and roll seem pallid by comparison." —Joe Nick Patowski, Texas Monthly
Earl Gilliam
Texas Doghouse Blues
Earl is at home with the free, open jams where he can stretch his boundaries from the beginner blues player who just sits in, to the veteran jazz cats. The best place to hear this is in his garage, he calls it the doghouse. Listening to this recording is like sitting in Earl's Doghouse on a Saturday afternoon.
Barbara Lynn
Blues & Soul Situation
In 1960, a 16-year old girl walked into Huey P. Meaux’s barbershop. Who would have known this girl would turn out to be the First Lady of Texas Soul and Blues. Barbara Lynn has performed on American Bandstand, played with all the greats, toured the world, and had her hit songs recorded by the likes of Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones, and Otis Redding to name a few.
Various Artists
Texas Soul Sisters
This is a soul and blues celebration — sweet soul music with some up-tempo raw blues from some of the women who helped shape roots music in Texas.
Lil Joe Washington
Houston Guitar Blues
Joe is from the Third Ward in Houston TX, by fifteen he was playing drums in Albert Collins band and later playing guitar for Roscoe Gordon. He played the rowdy border town circuit in El Paso, including the Lobby Bar in Juarez, Mexico before recording on the Donna and the Federal labels.
West Side Horns
San Quilmas
San Antonio supported integrated bands because they played music that filled dance floors. Out of that incubator came the members of the West Side Horns. Through years of working together on stages around the world, their sound has become an integral part of the fabric of Texas blues.
Matthew Robinson & Texas Blues Band
Matthew Robinson & Texas Blues Band
Matt has been burning up stages around Austin, Texas and beyond for over 30 years. On "Matthew Robinson & the Texas Blues Band" CD (his first for Dialtone) he and his smokin' band deliver a set of soulful blues straight from the chicken shack.
Texas Eastside Kings
Texas Eastside Kings
During the postwar era, East Austin was the heart of the most thriving time of Blues and R&B in Texas, hosting some of the hottest live shows in the state. Touring musicians such as T-Bone Walker, B.B. King, Amos Milburn, Guitar Slim and Lightnin' Hopkins would frequent the area because of its hoppin' clubs and the great local talent they could use as support. The Texas Eastside Kings are the musicians that supported these legends.
Various Artists
Blue Christmas
A treasure chest of Christmas classics by legendary and soon-to-be legendary Texas blues and gospel artists. Lucky boys or girls who get this collection under the Christmas tree won't be having a "Blue Christmas" this year. Dialtone's "Blue Christmas" features all new recordings of Christmas classics by both legendary Texas artists like The Bells of Joy as well as cuts by soon-to-be legendary artists like Ernestine Fuller who appears here on her first recording.
Richard Earl, Ervin Charles
Greyhound Blues
Blues fans should and will be shocked that Greyhound Blues is the only solo album Ervin Charles ever recorded and is joined by his long-time friend/collaborator Richard who lays down some soulful vocals. In the early days, Charles' "Hollywood Bare Cats" was one of the first bands to create the swamp pop power trio with only 2 guitars and a drummer.
Pat Patterson, Ephraim Owens, Martin Banks, Donald "Duck" Jennings, Texas Trumpets
The Texas Trumpets
Some of the best trumpet players of all time hail from and still reside in the heart of Texas. Popular demand brings them together for a special recording backed by Austin's finest Eastside Kings. Stepping into the spotlight are international legend Martin Banks, Donald "Duck" Jennings, Pat Patterson and Ephraim Owens.
Bells of Joy
Second Time Around
This style of gospel is reminiscent of the Soul Stirrers, Dixie Hummingbirds and The Pilgrim Travelers. By 1951, the Bells recorded for Don Robey's Duke/Peacock label. Their million-seller single, "Let's Talk About Jesus" went straight to the top ten R&B Billboard charts. At that time, The Bells went on to record for Wildcat Records, Chess/Checker and Nashboro Records.